A MARTÍNEZ, BYLINE: Indirect talks between the United States and Iran over a potential new nuclear deal have resumed. President Trump said there could be, quote, "good news soon," but negotiators on both sides have drawn hard lines. To understand Iran's perspective on negotiating with the Trump administration, we reached out to Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a political analyst and professor at the University of Tehran. Marandi insists the sticking point of uranium enrichment is an issue of Iranian sovereignty.
SEYED MOHAMMAD MARANDI: Iran knows that the United States uses sanctions as a weapon. And so Iran is not going to build reactors without having the ability to provide those reactors with homemade fuel. In fact, in the past, during a period when Iran had a shortage of gasoline, the United States attempted to block the import of gasoline itself. So when the United States behaves in such a manner, obviously, Iran is going to be very careful about energy security, which includes nuclear energy.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, President Trump has said that there's reason for optimism in these talks. But from Iran's perspective, I mean, is there any sense that progress is actually being made?
MARANDI: It's unclear what Trump means because he says different things on different days, so we can't take anything seriously. The only thing that matters for Iran is what happens at the negotiating table. Iran will not be intimidated by threats. The driving force for the Iranian negotiators is the preservation of Iranian sovereignty and not to allow Iran to become vulnerable to U.S. sanctions. Beyond that, everything else is solvable. But the problem is that inside the United States, you have the neocons and the Zionist lobby, which have their own priorities. And their priority is Israel first, and that could have a huge impact on the way in which the negotiations move forward.
MARTÍNEZ: So given that President Trump withdrew from the original nuclear deal back in 2018, what level of trust does Iran have in the United States as a negotiating partner now?
MARANDI: The Iranians never trusted the United States. We've had many deals with the Americans, which every single one of them was broken in the past - every single one - in the 1980s, in the 1990s. And over the last 20-some years since the so-called war on terror began, Trump has been no different from previous leaders in the United States, but he did tear up a deal. And that makes it all the more difficult for Iran to negotiate a new deal because we don't know if even - hypothetically, if a deal is signed, how do we know that the following morning we won't see something on Truth Social, a post by Trump rejecting the deal?
MARTÍNEZ: There have also been warnings from Israel that it might launch attacks against Iranian nuclear facilities. If these talks break down, how seriously does Iran think those threats are?
MARANDI: Well, the Israeli regime can't carry out an attack on Iran without U.S. assistance. The last time they did it, the United States was there for them. They used their radar facilities across the Persian Gulf and in Turkey. If, though, the Israeli regime attacks, Iran has already stated that they will change their nuclear posture. It won't end well for the Israeli regime either because Iran will strike back very hard, and I think they know it. But the problem is that Netanyahu is fighting for his own personal survival. He's not fighting for the interests of the regime itself. Therefore, if that undermines the regime but preserves his power, I think that's fine with him.
MARTÍNEZ: I mean, as much as President Trump seems to be enthusiastic right now, it seems like a deal is still very, very far away.
MARANDI: A deal could be at hand. It could be quite close. That would depend on Trump. If Trump recognizes and accepts Iran's sovereignty, then we could have a deal. It wouldn't be very difficult, actually. But if Trump wants to impose something on Iran that infringes the country's sovereignty, there's not a chance in the world that that will happen. Iran is probably the most fiercely independent country in the world. The revolution, to a huge degree, was about dignity and sovereignty, and that is not something that the Iranians will surrender.
MARTÍNEZ: That is professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a political analyst and professor at the University of Tehran. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us.
MARANDI: Thank you very much for having me.
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